Statutory public inquiry needed into CHI failings

Labour Leader Ivana Bacik TD has today demanded that the Taoiseach commit to a statutory public inquiry into the failings at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) for children with scoliosis and spinal bifida. Speaking during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil, Deputy Bacik said urgent action is needed to ensure that the families of children with scoliosis and spina bifida finally receive justice and accountability.

Deputy Bacik said:

“Today I raised in the Dáil the heartbreaking case of Harvey Morrisson Sherratt, who died in July this year at just nine years of age. Harvey lived with spina bifida, hydrocephalus and scoliosis. He tragically passed away eight months after eventually having surgery, following years of waiting. I want to express again my deepest sympathies to his parents, Gillian and Stephen, who have fought so courageously for their son and for all children failed by our health system.

“Yesterday’s announcement that an inquiry will be held is welcome, but it must be public and statutory. Transparency must be at the heart of the inquiry process. Families like Harvey’s have been let down time and again by broken promises. Parents must be centrally involved in developing the terms of reference. They deserve nothing less than truth and accountability.

“Children with scoliosis and spina bifida are still facing long delays for vital operations. We know that many endure excruciating pain as they languish on waiting lists. In 2017, the Tánaiste promised that no child would wait more than four months for spinal surgery. Infamously, and tragically, that promise has not been kept. A child who was ten when that pledge was made has now aged out of the paediatric system.

“Families are right to feel abandoned. Let reports have not yet been published. The HIQA review exposed serious failings earlier this year, yet the Government expressed confidence in the CHI Board even then. It is only now that the Health Minister has come around to Labour’s view that CHI must be integrated into the HSE. Families deserve to know what has changed, and why.

“This is not just about the past. It is about children in the system today, and those who will come after them. The failings of CHI are ongoing, and it is children who are paying the highest price. Parents cannot take any more platitudes or false promises. They need timely care for their children – care that allows them to thrive, not deteriorate.

“Unsurprisingly, the response from Tánaiste Micheál Martin in the Dáil today was disappointingly inadequate. Instead of engaging with the substance of my questions, he side-stepped the central issue: whether this Government will deliver a statutory, public inquiry with full involvement from families and meaningful engagement with parents on the terms of reference.

“An Taoiseach now has three weeks to do right by these children and their families. Labour is clear: the inquiry must give families a real role in shaping its terms. Only then can we begin to restore trust and to ensure that no child is ever failed like this again.”